Serena Williams will make her belated comeback on the WTA Tour at the Wimbledon Championships this week when she opens her bid on Tuesday against France’s Harmony Tan.
Williams is making her first appearance since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. Last year, Williams’ run ended before it got off the ground as she was forced to retire from her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a torn hamstring.
It proved to be the last match the now 40-year-old American would play in 2021 and beyond.
Wimbledon organizers awarded Serena one of the coveted wild-card spots. While the draw sees the 24-time Grand Slam champion fall into a tough second quarter of the Wimbledon women’s draw, which is loaded with top talent and dangerous floaters.
At the same time, Serena falls into the top half of the draw, which includes World No.1 Iga Swiatek and several Grand Slam champions such as Garbine Muguruza, Barbora Krejcikova, Sloane Stephens, and Bianca Andreescu.
Where Serena falls makes little difference to her or tennis betting markets. You don’t win 23 grand slam titles by accident.
Serena has her 👀 on number 24 #Wimbledon | @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/X1LRyc9LVj
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2022
2022 Wimbledon Ladies Odds
- Iga Swiatek +150
- Ons Jabeur +800
- Coco Gauff +1000
- Simona Halep +1400
- Jelena Ostapenko +1600
- Petra Kvitova +1800
- Beatriz Haddad-Maia +1800
- Belinda Bencic +1800
- Serena Williams +2000
- Maria Sakkari +2000
- Bianca Andreescu +2200
- Angelique Kerber +2500
- Amanda Anisimova +3000
- Emma Raducanu +4000
- Anett Kontaveit +5000
Serena Williams Sixth Overall Favorite at +2000
As per the tennis odds, Serena is one of the Top 10 contenders to win the title. She’s priced as the +2000 bet with BetUS to win her eighth career Wimbledon title and that elusive 24th major title and knot rival Margaret Court.
Williams odds put her behind Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Beatriz Haddad-Maia, and Belinda Bencic. As far as implied probability goes, however, she has a 4.8 % chance to win.
At first glance, it does seem outrageous that the oddsmakers would give the great Serena Williams less than a five percent shot to win. But upon careful consideration, it does make sense.
Serena Williams Has Lost Four Finals in a Row
There are several reasons for the modest outlook. For instance, Serena’s lack of match play in over a year, hitting 40 years of age last September, the depth of the women’s game.
Over and above these factors, there’s also the fact that Serena has failed at the time of asking four times already. She lost two US Open finals and two Wimbledon finals since 2018. She’s also gone six years without a Wimbledon title, since her last triumph over Angelique Kerber in 2016.
In 2018, Williams lost the Wimbledon final to Kerber, 6-3, 6-3. At the US Open a few months later, Serena succumbed to Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4.
In 2019, Simona Halep stunned Serena in the Wimbledon final, 6-2, 6-2. Two months later, Bianca Andreescu beat Serena 6-3, 7-5 in the US Open final.
Already then Serena was visibly struggling to win major titles. The sheer fact that all four of those finals were lost in straight sets too, with Serena being thoroughly outplayed, outhit and outshot, was the most jarring aspect of it all.
Serena Williams’ vs. Market Expectations
When asked directly in a recent interview about her specific expectations at Wimbledon, Serena held her cards close to her chest.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion was vague in her response. She answered: “I don’t know. I have high goals, but also — I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m not going to answer that.”
Serena #Williams and Ons #Jabeur are practicing together in #Wimbledon2022 😄 pic.twitter.com/DY0QYYAbhj
— Barbara Grassi (@bargrassi) June 25, 2022
What she did share with the media was her desire to create new memories at the All England Club. Referencing her disappointing exit last year, she said she was motivated to return this year.
“Yeah, it was a lot of motivation, to be honest,” Williams said. “It was always something since the match ended that was always on my mind. So it was a tremendous amount of motivation for that.
Serena Williams Faces Harmony Tan in First Round
Serena’s opening match pits her against France’s Tan on Tuesday at a time that is yet to be determined. This is the first meeting between Serena, 40, and Tan, 24. To view the Challenger Monterrey tennis match between Mitchell Kruege and Bernard Tomic and explore the available betting options.
Betting online odds are already in full swing for Serena’s much anticipated Wimbledon opener and as one might expect, she’s a runaway favorite to win.
Consider the world shocked if Williams doesn’t win handily and advance into the second round where she should face the winner of Sara Sorribes Tormo and Christine McHale. (For a complete look at Williams draw, check out our Wimbledon women’s draw analysis).
